Passport officers at our airports

THE conduct of the Passport Department personnel is the first government procedure a visitor to any country is bound to experience. The visitors usually judge the country, negatively or positively, and whether it respects the human rights or not through the way the Passport Department personnel deal with them. For this reason, countries are keen to train these officers not only to improve their professional skills and competence but also their manners and the way they need to deal with visitors. They are trained to deal with visitors with respect and good manners and help them until they are out of the airport terminal. The Passport Department officer, whether at the airport or seaport, will give you a general idea about the manners of the people of that country — whether they are civilized and advanced and if they are hospitable to their guests.
Most of these officers at the Kingdom's airports — not all — deal with the visitors especially the working class with arrogance and haughtiness. They deal with them in a manner, which is far from being polite and hospitable. They reprimand them in loud voices for slight errors and badmouth them for simple mistakes. You will listen these passport officers, especially those organizing the queues, using dirty words while censuring the visitors in the queue.
I am aware that some of the foreign workers who come to our country may be ignorant of our rules and regulations. They may be chaotic and undisciplined by nature or that they might be coming from a different environment. However, the ignorance of the foreign workers of our rules and regulations does not justify using uncouth language against them or mistreating those arriving or departing. The officers could guide them but definitely not reprimand or humiliate them.
Let us have a look at the way passport officers at our airports deal with the arriving or departing foreign workers compared to their counterparts at airports in other GCC countries. Though the foreign workers coming to all these countries are from the same places, you will not find the kind of rough treatment meted out to them at our airports anywhere else.
I wish the Passport Department had assigned a specialized consultancy firm to take the views and opinions of the arriving and departing passengers about the treatment they receive from officers at the immigration at our airports. I am certain that the results will not be only negative but shameful.
The airport is the gateway of any country. Therefore governments take good care of them so as to make it both beautiful and comfortable. The governments spend lavishly on the design and construction of their airports. They also use modern technology to make sure that the services provided at these airports are good, traffic flow is easy and the time required to complete the procedures is short.
No matter how much the governments spent on the designs, construction, maintenance and beautification of their airports, personnel manning the airports or dealing with the incoming or outgoing visitors remain the most important element in this entire operation. You can import the most modern technology, machines, buildings and systems if you have the money but change a man through wealth. Man is transformed through the advancement, progress and civilization of any country. He is the first indicator through which you can notice the negative and positive aspects of a country about the development of its human resources and the progress of its people.
I sincerely appeal to the officials in charge of the Passport Department to give more attention to the training of these officers at the airports as to how to deal with visitors. I do not see any keenness by the department in this regard. The Passport Department personnel should receive rigorous training by public relations experts on how to deal nicely with people.
If you can read a book from its title, as it is commonly believed, you can also read the countries by their airports.

(Courtesy of Al-Jazirah newspaper)